Warren Buffett is telegraphing his disdain for Wall Street bankers with an oddball price on his latest multibillion-dollar takeover.
The $848.02 for every share that Alleghany Corp. stockholders get from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is the result of Buffett balking at the banking fee being set aside by the target company -- in this case for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which is advising the insurer.
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Berkshire had offered to pay $850 a share with Buffett cautioning Alleghany that he didn’t want to foot the bill for the banking fees, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. So any fee for a financial adviser would come out of the proceeds for Alleghany’s shareholders. The result is spelled out in a regulatory filing: an announced purchase price that subtracts roughly $27 million for Goldman -- calling attention to Buffett’s stand.
The 91-year-old has historically expressed disdain for investment bankers, calling them among the expensive “money-shufflers” who “clamor to be fed” in his annual letter released in 2015. When he was a shareholder and director of Gillette Co., he pushed unsuccessfully in 1996 to slash such fees to Duracell International Inc.’s bankers as part of Gillette’s acquisition of the battery company.
Representatives for Goldman and Alleghany declined to comment. Buffett’s assistant didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
Read the full article here by Sridhar Natarajan, Katherine Chiglinsky, Advisor Perspectives.
